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Information about Caramelisation

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Vegetables being caramelized
Caramelization or caramelisation (see spelling differences) is the oxidation of sugar, a process used extensively in cooking for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color.

Like the Maillard reaction, caramelization is a type of non-enzymatic browning. However, unlike the Maillard reaction, caramelization is about oxidation, as opposed to reaction with amino acids.

As the process occurs, chemicals are released producing the characteristic caramel flavor. If a sucrose solution is left in a sand bath over night, the sucrose (once the water has evaporated) will caramelize.

When caramelization involves sucrose, it adds one water molecule to sucrose to split it apart to form fructose and glucose, increasing the mass of the sugar (caramel).

Process

Caramelization is a complex, poorly understood process that produces hundreds of chemicals. Here is an overview:
  1. equilibration of anomeric and ring forms
  2. sucrose inversion to fructose and glucose
  3. condensation
  4. azide alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition
  5. intramolecular bonding
  6. reflux of complex protein chains
  7. isomerization of aldoses to ketoses
  8. dehydration reactions
  9. oxidation of keratin proteins
  10. phased chiral transmission of sodium chloride crystals
  11. fragmentation reactions
  12. refragmentation reactions
  13. cis-trans isomerism of simple sugars
  14. unsaturated polymer formation

Caramelization temperatures

Caramelization temperatures [1]
Sugar Temperature
Fructose110°C, 230°F
Galactose160°C, 320°F
Glucose160°C, 320°F
Maltose180°C, 356°F
Sucrose160°C, 320°F

References

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Redox (shorthand for reduction/oxidation reaction) describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed.

This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide, or the
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Sugars, brown
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 0 kcal   0 kJ

Carbohydrates     97.33 g
- Sugars  96.21 g
- Dietary fiber  0 g  
Fat 0 g
Protein 0 g
Water 1.77 g
Thiamin (Vit. B1)  0.
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The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar, usually requiring heat. Like caramelization, it is a form of non-enzymatic browning.
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amino acid is a molecule that contains both amine and carboxyl functional groups. In biochemistry, this term refers to alpha-amino acids with the general formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent.
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contradict the article Maillard reaction. Please see discussion on the linked talk page.


Caramel (IPA: /ˈkærəmɛl/, also
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sand bath is a common piece of laboratory equipment made from a container filled with heated sand. It is used to provide even heating for another container, most often during a chemical reaction.
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Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructofuranose.
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chemical equilibrium is the state in which the chemical activities or concentrations of the reactants and products have no net change over time. Usually, this state results when the forward chemical process proceeds at the same rate as their reverse reaction.
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Inverted sugar syrup is sucrose-based syrup treated with the glycoside hydrolase enzyme invertase or an acid, which splits each sucrose molecule into one glucose and one fructose molecule.
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Reflux is a technique used in industrial and laboratory distillations. It is also used in chemistry to apply energy to reactions over a long time.

Reflux in industrial distillation

The term reflux [1][2]
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In chemistry, isomerization or isomerisation is the transformation of a molecule into a different isomer [1]. In some molecules and under some conditions, isomerisation occurs spontaneously.
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aldose is a monosaccharide (a simple sugar) containing one aldehyde group per molecule and having a chemical formula of the form CnH2nOn, (n>=3).
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ketose is a sugar containing one ketone group per molecule.

With 3 carbon atoms, dihydroxyacetone is the simplest of all ketoses and is the only one having no optical activity.
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dehydration reaction is usually defined as a chemical reaction that involves the loss of water from the reacting molecule. Dehydration reactions are a subset of elimination reactions.
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Keratins are a family of fibrous structural proteins; tough and insoluble, they form the hard but nonmineralized structures found in reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals. They are rivaled as biological materials in toughness only by chitin.
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For sodium in the diet, see salt.


Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the formula NaCl.
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cis-trans isomerism or geometric isomerism is a form of stereoisomerism describing the orientation of functional groups within a molecule. Such isomers typically contain double bonds which cannot rotate, but they can also arise from ring structures where the rotation of
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Sugars, brown
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 0 kcal   0 kJ

Carbohydrates     97.33 g
- Sugars  96.21 g
- Dietary fiber  0 g  
Fat 0 g
Protein 0 g
Water 1.77 g
Thiamin (Vit. B1)  0.
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polymer is a substance composed of molecules with large molecular mass composed of repeating structural units, or monomers, connected by covalent chemical bonds. The word is derived from the Greek, πολυ, polu, "many"; and μέρος, meros,
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Fructose (or levulose) is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in many foods and is one of the three most important blood sugars along with glucose and galactose. Honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, and some root vegetables, such as beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and
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Galactose (Gal) (also called brain sugar[1]) is a type of sugar which is less sweet than glucose and not very water-soluble. It is considered a nutritive sweetener because it has food energy.

Galactan is a polymer of the sugar galactose.
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Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is an important carbohydrate in biology. The living cell uses it as a source of energy and metabolic intermediate.
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Maltose, or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) linkage. It is the second member of an important biochemical series of glucose chains.
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Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructofuranose.
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